An American-Canadian couple and their three children were freed today after being held hostage in Afghanistan for five years by militants linked to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Caitlan Coleman, 31, who gave birth to all three children in captivity, and her Canadian husband Josh Boyle, 34, were being flown home after an operation by the Pakistani military with US intgelligence.
They had been held by the Haqqani network, a powerful Pashtun group that recruited Osama bin Laden in the 1980s and retains close links with the Taliban.
Read more from The Times [HERE].
(Update 10/22) In first sit-down interview, Caitlan Coleman tells of forced abortion, disputes official account of her rescue in Pakistan
“We were not crossing into Pakistan that day,” Coleman said on the grounds of an Ottawa hospital on Monday, and claims made by Islamabad and Washington that they were rescued Oct. 11 after crossing the border are false.
Read more from The Star [HERE].